Wild Horse and Burro Volunteer StalwartsMost folks are passionate about wild horses and burros. And volunteers for Southern Nevada District Office are no different. They combine their passion and hard work and the local wild horses and burros are all the better for it. In FY 2014, they volunteered over 736 hours and drove over 2,100 miles in their personal vehicles, to help the BLM wild horse and burro program in a variety of ways. Read more...

Ely District ESR UpdateEly District emergency stabilization and rehabilitation efforts continued last December with crews seeding portions of four 2014 wildfires in less than a week. Crews aerially seeded approximately 360 acres of the Black Fire, 1,210 acres of the Cottonwood Fire, about 5,000 acres of the Lages Fire and 320 acres of the Sampson Fire. Read more...

National Public Lands Day: Taking Advantage of Drought ConditionsVolunteers, BLM staff and partners kicked off National Public Lands Day (NPLD) last September in the Blue Lakes Wilderness Study Area, located in northern Humboldt County, Nevada. Activities for the day began with a lively discussion on the 20th anniversary of NPLD, the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, and the 150th anniversary of Nevada statehood. Read more...

SNDO Teams Up to Keep Clean-Up Season Going Strong Four divisions of the Southern Nevada District Office came together last October to clean six public land parcels in the Las Vegas Valley. Staff from law enforcement, maintenance, off-season fire fighters and the desert clean-up program joined forces and removed over 70 cubic yards of trash including couches, mattresses, and illegal encampments that were creating public health and safety problems. Read more...

Winnemucca’s Harvest Fest The Winnemucca District Office participated in Harvest Fest last October, which brings together 2nd graders from three different schools in the Winnemucca area. Along with the Winnemucca Community Garden, Nevada Outdoor School, Forest Service and the BLM participates in the annual event by manning a station and bringing Smokey Bear to welcome students to the event. Read more...

BLM Representedat Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s HunterChristmas ExpoEly District Wildlife Biologists Marian Lichtler and Nancy Herms were among the specialists manning the BLM booth at the RMEF Hunter Christmas Expo, part of the Foundation’s annual Elk Camp that was held in Las Vegas in early December. Read more...

Carson City District Receives Agency of the Year AwardOn October 29, Sierra Front Field Manager Leon Thomas, on behalf of Sierra Front Field Office accepted the “Agency of the Year Award” from Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful (KTMB). This award was presented to BLM as part of KTMB’s 25th Anniversary. Read more...

BLM Works with Partners to Enhance Recreation in Eastern NevadaThe BLM Ely District's Caliente Field Office is partnering with City of Caliente, Lincoln County, Nevada Division of State Parks and International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) to develop non-motorized trails systems and improve recreational opportunities in Lincoln County, NV. Together, these groups are designing environmentally-sustainable, multipurpose trails systems that, when completed, will connect the public lands with existing and planned-for trails systems in Caliente and Kershaw-Ryan State Park. Read more...

Winnemucca District Teams with Partners to Protect and Enhance District Resources Near the end of October the Winnemucca District Black Rock Field Office, joined forces with project partners Friends of Black Rock High Rock and the Nevada Outdoor School (NOS) to protect and enhance valuable resources across the district. Read more...

If You Build It...The line “If you build it, they will come…” from the movie Field of Dreams came to mind this summer as I drove down eastern Nevada’s Meadow Valley Wash. It was a year ago that a chance survey detected two Southwestern Willow Flycatchers in the wash, a species not documented here in over a decade. And, now there were two nests with two fledglings each. Read more...

Pine Nut Land Health ProjectOn September 26, Deputy Director Steve Ellis and BLM Nevada State Director Amy Lueders visited the Carson City BLM District to attend a field tour at the Pine Nut Mountains to learn about the Pine Nut Land Health Project. Two of many partners also joined the field tour, one from the Nevada Department of Wildlife and other from the Department of Agriculture. Read more...

Reaching the Next Generation of Wilderness StewardsStory hour at the White Pine County Library is anything but sleepy now that Wilderness Outreach and Education Specialist Rebecca Urbanczyk has the children spinning the Leave No Trace Prize Wheel and playing Wilderness Bingo. Read more...

Hawkwatch Takes Flight in Northern NevadaIn preparation for the summer raptor migration through the Goshute range in northeast Nevada, a collaborative effort was launched to clear the trail and deliver supplies for the crew of Hawkwatch International’s raptor research station. Read more...

Silver State South GroundbreakingOn September 3, BLM Director Kornze joined First Solar Senior Vice President Brian Stanley and Armando Pimentel, CEO of NextEra Energy Resources to welcome energy and community leaders to the site, including guest speakers Paul Thomsen, Director of the Nevada Office of Energy, Rose McKinney James, Chair of the Clean Energy Project and Rebecca Wagner, Member of the Nevada Public Utilities Commission at the groundbreaking of Silver State South Solar Project. Read more...

Rock Creek Staff RideFirefighters of the Winnemucca District spent the summer solstice walking in the sobering footsteps of five men who died in 1939 while fighting the Rock Creek Fire. This day, organized annually for over the past decade, is designed not just memorialize the departed, but also to instill a paramount understanding in the firefighters, to remind them that every day there is a chance that fire can win in the worst of ways. July 28th, 1939 was one day amongst many when this reality was tragically recognized. Read more...

Educators Take the Great Basin back to their ClassroomsThis school year, 28 educators from throughout the West will pass on to their students lessons learned at the Great Basin Teachers Workshop, hosted by the BLM Ely District in partnership with other federal and state agencies. Read more...

Red Rock Artist-in-Residence Opening ReceptionOn July 9, the Red Rock/Sloan Field Office and the Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Association (RRCIA) hosted its first Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area Artist-in-Residence program opening reception. The reception had an attendance of 75 people who were able to view the artwork and meet each of the artists. Read more...

Waterfalls Abound on Scenic Thomas Canyon HikeLocal area hikers celebrated the summer solstice June 21 on a warm, sunny day climbing through Thomas Canyon in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest near Lamoille, Nevada. The hike is part of a collaborative effort between the BLM’s Elko District, U.S. Forest Service - Ruby Mountain Ranger District and local outdoor clothing store, Cedar Creek Clothing. The partners team up every year to provide fun, free, family outings to introduce people to their public lands. Read more...

Black Rock RendezvousThe 2014 Black Rock Rendezvous was great success. The event lasted three days over Memorial Day weekend as approximately 175 volunteers, BLM staff, The Friends of Nevada Wilderness, and The Friends of Black Rock High Rock partnered to complete volunteer service projects, activities, and guided natural and cultural interpretive tours led by field experts.Read more...

BLM’s Landscape Approach in Managing Wetland Aquatic HabitatNevada has two ecosystems - Great Basin and Mojave deserts, which receive 6-12 inches and 2-6 inches of average yearly precipitation. This makes Nevada the driest state in the nation. Riparian areas are important havens for native fish and wildlife, many of which are listed as threatened or endangered species. Water resources in Nevada are scarce and precious. Increasing demand and development of public lands has put strain on water resources within Nevada, jeopardizing the health of the riparian areas they support. Read more...

Desert Clean-Up Program Makes Mincemeat of Trash The Southern Nevada District Office Desert Clean-Up program boasted an extremely productive year that made the district’s three million acres of public land much more beautiful. Read more...

Deputy Director Neil Kornze Visits Nevada BLM Principal Deputy Director Neil Kornze wrapped up a trip to BLM offices in Alaska, California and Nevada with a stop at the BLM Ely District Office on March 14. Capping off the visit was a tour of the $4.1 million Ely Regional Seed Warehouse, the latest addition to the BLM’s national seed warehouse system. Read more...

BLM Aerial Seeding of Fire Damaged AreasThe BLM Elko District hosted a public opportunity to view aerial seeding of lands near Lee, Nev. impacted by the Smith Ranch Fire during July 2013. The Smith Ranch Fire started July 19, 2013 and was contained on July 25 after burning 2,759 acres. Read more...

RNMC Donation to Benefit Eastern Nevada Wildlife and Wild HorsesKGHM International’s Robinson Mine, known in White Pine County, Nevada, as the Robinson Nevada Mining Company (RNMC), and the BLM Ely District are teaming up to turn used haul truck tires into guzzlers for wildlife, livestock and wild horses. The tires were originally used on RNMC’s 240-ton haul trucks and are massive in size, ranging from nine to 13-feet tall. This new partnership gives Robinson an attractive alternative for disposing of its used tires. Read more...

BLM Nevada Installs New Door on “Hidden Cave” Entrance to Preserve Valuable Archaeological Assets It took six BLM employees to transport a 300 pound door along a quarter mile trail to Hidden Cave within the Grimes Archaeological District in Nevada. The BLM Carson City Office replaced the door to protect the valuable archaeological assets inside the cave and to provide tour guides and authorized cave visitors with a user-friendly entrance. Read more...

Black Rock RendezvousA great example of BLM’s volunteer partnership – the 2013 Black Rock Rendezvous. This Leave No Trace camping event attracted 200 participants during Memorial Day weekend last year on the west edge of the Black Rock Playa. Tours and lectures provided information to the public on a variety of subjects related to the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area (NCA). Read more...

Meet BLM's Newest Law Enforcement RecruitBLM Southern Nevada District Office recently welcomed its newest K-9 team - Ryan Parr and his German Shepherd partner Kahr. Born in the Czech Republic 18 months ago, Kahr immigrated to the U.S. and began training at Shallow Creek Kennels in Sharpsville, Pa. Read more...

A Hawkwatch Field Trip for the Wells Field Office StaffThe Wells Field Office staff visited the Hawkwatch International Research Site in the Goshute Peak Wilderness Study Area (WSA). Julie Rodman, Cam Collins, Gerry Miller and Bruce Thompson made the 2.5 mile, 1,800 foot climb to the top of the ridge overlooking Christmas Tree Canyon with wonderful views of the Great Salt Lake Desert to the east and the Ruby Mountains to the west. Read more...